SDL Trados Studio does not indicate the differences between the source segment text in the document and the source segment match in the translation memory

We have been getting a lot of mails regarding this, which is just a very small config detail. SDL Trados Studio does not indicate the differences between the source segment text in the document and the source segment match in the translation memory for the fuzzy matches found. Solution is simple

This occurs when your translation memory list contains both file-based translation memories and non-translation memory providers, and a non-translation memory provider is being used before the translation memories.

Saving your computer from total disaster

More often than not I get mails from users telling me about problems with their computers when using SDL Trados Studio and not being able to work. Normally this users contact me and want immediate response to fix the problem because they are in the middle of translating a project (Murphy's law). Although they could go and read SDL's support website (which 95% of the times has the solution) they always try to go the easy way and get an answer for me. Well, I do try to help them as much as I can, but 90% of the time (literally) the problem is not the software per se, but something going wrong in the their system. Most people, not being very skillful  with computers, don't know how to fix a problem beyond a typo in word or post a pic on Facebook. And even when this is not right or wrong it does entail many things. When you provide directions on how to attempt some repairs, normally the users get lost and have no clue of what they are doing. Some users go as a fat as not even knowing that uninstalling is not erasing files but going to windows control panel to properly carry out such task. So there are to ways here, either they learn to properly use a computer and acquire a good level of skills (which most users tend to believe they don't need), or they learn a set of simple but very important rules. Thus, in order to help them all (and perhaps some other more advanced users that might not follow this rules yet) here are some videos to get you started on emergency prevention, instead of reacting.

First, as soon as you get your new computer make sure you, either have a set of restores discs included or that you create them as soon as you get your computer working and start installing more software. Most vendors do not provide restore discs anymore, but DO give you the means to create within your computer. So all you have to do is look for an option like create rescue discs or create restore discs. Normally you will ned from 3 to 6 dvds for that depending on what your computer came with from the factory. So if you have no specific option provided or if you would like to watch some similar scenarios, here are some videos on this regards.

• Make recovery discs for your PC on windows Vista (this applies to some HP computers perhaps even with windows 7) 

• If you want to go further, then you can make a personalized recovery disc set and an image of your hard drive (more advance but thorough option)

Now, once you have a working restore CD from your computer as soon as it is ready and working fresh on factory defaults, you can go ahead and also make a restore point to don't have to wipe the drive and go back to factory settings. Creating a restore point will give you the option that in case something is not working ok, you can go back to that restore point which is your computer working nicely at a certain point in time. So as soon as you have created your restore CD then you can install all your software and as soon as you test it is all working as you want create a restore point. Here's how (it includes the steps to restore the restore point).

So if you follow this rules then maybe you can skip attending to your local training center. In case something is going really wrong with your computer then just go back to the restore point when your computer was finely tuned. HOWEVER! don't forget to constantly make a backup of your system at least every week. Bear in mind that this implies having another hard drive (external preferably). If you live in Mexico there are some suggestions of external hard drives you can buy.

External portable hard drive 500gb Editor's choice click here

Curso SDL Trados Studio 2011 para principiantes

Curso presencial y en línea al mismo tiempo. Dirigido a traductores, estudiantes de traducción e idiomas, gerentes de proyecto y profesores de traducción. Al final del evento podrán optar por hacer su examen de certificación oficial. El curso es gratis para los ALUMNOS de Uninter y tendrá un costo de aproximadamente 1300 pesos por persona externa.
Más información AQUÍ 

Spanish is Difficult! A good laugh for those who speak Spanish!

Translating using voice recognition and SDL Trados Studio 2011

Dear all,
It has recently been brought to my attention that there was a negative comment in this post regarding a company in mexico selling Nuance products and it is worth saying it has been deleted and that we do not endorse companies other than SDL. We just comment on their products.

Google charges for MT update

A translator/blogger brilliantly found a word around to connect to google from trados while still using the old API. This still means you have to pay, but you will be able to use the new paid service. This is just temporary, but it works. Thanks a lot to: http://translacorner.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-to-make-trados-studio-work-with.html

Google is now charging for MT services

I know we were all expecting this, Google will start charging for third party software to access their translation service. I guess we all knew this time would come

Here is what you can find in the Google Translate API website:

"Important: Google Translate API v2 is now available as a paid service. The courtesy limit for existing Translate API v2 projects created prior to August 24, 2011 will be reduced to zero on December 1, 2011. In addition, the number of requests your application can make per day will be limited. Google Translate API v1 will be shut off completely on the same date (December 1, 2011); it was officially deprecated on May 26, 2011. These changes are being made due to the substantial economic burden caused by extensive abuse. For website translations, we encourage you to use the Google Website Translator gadget."

The price will be 20 USD for every million characters. The question you might be asking yourself at the moment might be: a million characters hu? how much is that?

I happen to be translating a 40056 words project, a very common amount if you ask me, I just checked the character amount and it happens to be 208,679 characters. This means that just a very regular project will consume almost a quarter of the character count I get for my $20 bucks. So 4 of those projects, which is a very standard month for me, would consume my 20 dollars. Now 160,000 words is a very small number for a mid-sized translation company. One thousand pages would mean 220,000 characters and $40 dollars a month and around 500 dollars a year. This is just for one language, a regular small company works with 3-4 languages at least, about 2000 dollars every year. It might not be much, but the good question would be, is it really worth it? In my experience Google translate works very good with short sentences and it is very topic-dependant. It works great for IT, but has serious problems when it comes to legal translation for example. The bright side might be that we will now think twice before running our files through Google translate as a pre-translation step. And don't take me wrong, I'm a supporter of MT if it is used carefully and responsibly. I will share more thoughts on this regards in future posts. In the meantime, please work hard to get us new API integrated applications for our CAT software guys!